Tag: Charlie Papazian

There is a story, at least partly apocryphal, of Charlie Papazian, co-founder of the American Homebrewers Association, telling the great English beer critic Michael Jackson that he and some other Yanks were thinking of launching something called the Great American Beer Festival. “That’s a great idea, Charlie,” Jackson said. “Only what will you serve for... View Article

(Press Release) BOULDER, CO—The Brewers Association (BA), the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers, released its annual 2014 Beer Style Guidelines. These guidelines, put together annually by the Brewers Association, serve as a reference tool for beer experts and enthusiasts, highlighting various beer styles. The 2014 version of the beer... View Article

With a bit of luck, you and I will be clinking glasses round about now. Usual time, same place? You remember it, of course? They have 1,200 beers, in 50 or 60 styles, from 300 breweries, under one roof? If we miss each other in the crowd, I shall be sorry, but it is understandably... View Article

An Inside Look at the Pioneering Days of American Craft BeerJuly 1, 2013 - Tom Acitelli

One day in August, 1965, a 27-year-old former graduate student in Japanese studies at Stanford walked into his favorite bar, the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Francisco’s trendy North Beach neighborhood. He ordered his usual: an Anchor Steam. The bar’s owner, a World War II veteran and local eccentric named Fred Kuh, ambled over. “You... View Article

I started to write about the good taste of beer, as opposed to brewing beer, in 1978. I had been brewing and writing about brewing since 1969. And I had been struggling to publish the Amateur Brewer since early in 1977. A local delicatessen asked me to write a column about beer for their monthly... View Article

Geek is just another word for enthusiastic… We keep loving stuff and remain unembarrassed by our enthusiasm. -Simon Pegg A role by any other name is still a geek. Advocate. Enthusiast. Aficionado. Beer Geeks aren’t fashioned or formed through genetics or environment―they are self-made.

After the repeal of national prohibition in 1933, only 756 of the nation’s estimated 1,900 pre-prohibition breweries resumed operations. WWII and its aftermath had a further effect on their numbers, with the largest American (and world) brewers buying out smaller breweries.

American philosopher Mortimer J. Adler once wrote, “In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” Of course, Adler’s observation is no less profound for the knowledge-seeking beer drinker than for anyone else. Virtually every micro-aspect of... View Article

The microbrew revolution has been fueled by many, but the core conclave of original zymurgists were few in number. They were essentially a group of visionaries and tinkerers who shared a common love for great beer.